Pathfinder - Practical Guide to Animal Companions

Last Updated: November 26th, 2017

Disclaimer

I will use content from the core rules, but will intentionally omit any content not published
on the official Pathfinder SRD due to the
unmanageable volume of non-SRD content, and the wildly varying quality of non-SRD content.
If you would like me to write handbooks for specific content not published on the official
SRD, please email me and I will consider it on a case-by-case
basis. I will use the color coding scheme which has become common among Pathfinder build
handbooks. Also note that many colored items are also links to the Paizo SRD.

Red: Bad, useless options, or options which are extremely situational.

Orange: OK options, or useful options that only apply in rare circumstances

Green: Good options.

Blue: Fantastic options, often essential to the function of your character.

Temporary Note: Pathfinder Unchained and Occult Adventures were
both recently added to the SRD. I'm excited to explore them, and I am actively working
on adding their contents to my collection of handbooks. I appreciate your patience while
I make these changes.

Introduction

Animal companions are a key component of druids and rangers, and through archetypes
can be components of other classes. Selecting your animal companion is an important
choice, and can have major effects on how your character functions on the table. With
the right choices, your animal companion can be a scout, a striker, a defender, or a
mount, depending on your needs.

Ultimate Campaign includes some
wonderful
content about how to handle pets in your game. Reading it isn't essential,
but it may improve your play experience when pets are involved.

How Animal Companions Work

First, familiarize yourself with the table below, taken from the Druid class entry.
As you gain levels, your animal companions abilities grow, and it adds additional hit
dice, tricks, feats, and other useful stuff. Keep in mind that Rangers and most other
classes will get an animal companion at a druid level equal to their class level -3.

Link (Ex): Handling an animal to make
them do something normally requires a move action, so if you like to train
attack dogs or something, keep that in mind. Allowing you to handle your animal
companion as a free action allows you to order them around while still taking
your full turn. The +4 bonus to wild empathy and handle animal with your
companion makes it considerably easier to teach additional tricks.

Keep in mind that there is actually a DC of 10 to make your companion
do something, and a strict DM might make you roll for that. With a few ranks
in Handle Animal and that nice +4 bonus, you can be sure to pass the skill
check even if your companion is injured (+2 to DC). Between your wisdom, skill
ranks, and the +4 bonus, be sure to have a +11 bonus to gurantee that you can
always handle your companion, even on a natural 1.

Share Spells (Ex): While not
particularly useful for a druid, this allows hilarious things like animal
domain clerics casting Divine Might on their companion.

Ability Score Increase (Ex):
This allows you to add 1 to any of your companions ability scores.
Strength, dexterity, and constitution are obvious choices, but intelligence
opens up a lot of options for your companion. Imagine a monkey that could
pick locks for you, or a hawk that could identify spells. Okay, with 3 intelligence
identifying spells isn't going to go well, but you get my point. 3 intelligence
also allows your companion to understand language, which means you can give
it (slightly) complex orders that go beyond whatever tricks it knows.

Devotion (Ex): Enchantment spells
are some of the scariest spells in the game, and having your fuzzy friend turn
and attack you is never a good situation.

Multiattack: If your companion
has multiple natural attacks, multiattack is a fantastic feat. If they don't
the free secondary attack is crucial in making up the damage gap between animals
with multiple attacks and those with only single attacks. Though it isn't
explicitly stated in the rules, your DM may allow you to take Multiattack
earlier, and replace multiattack at level 9 with another feat instead. This
would be consistent with other bonus feats gained by character classes, but
be sure to confirm with your DM before you make any assumptions.

Improved Evasion (Ex):
Leaps and bounds better than evasion.

Animal Companion Skills

Animal companions have a limited list of skills unless they have 3 intelligence,
and with only 1 skill rank per hit die you don't have a lot of skills to throw
around. Pick skills which fit your companions role, and will help them help you.

All of the skills marked with an (*) are class skills for animal companions,
so they get the +3 class skill bonus just like you do.

Acrobatics* (Dex): The ability to jump and
tumble past foes in combat can really help your companion. Many animals
have respectable dexterity, which can make this work very well.

Climb* (Str): Climb isn't very useful for
players, and putting it on an animal doesn't make it any better.

Fly* (Dex): Situational. If your animal companion
has a fly speed, it gets a +8 to fly. Maybe consider one more rank for the
super rare Fly check, but don't bother with more than that.

Intimidate (Cha): Animals typically have
average charisma, but many of them are also large. Their lack of available
skill ranks makes this difficult, but the idea of a big gorilla standing
behind you glaring at people makes for some interesting games.

Perception* (Wis): The most rolled skill in
the game, and you companion has an extra set of eyes to put behind a roll.
Regardless of your other selections, it is hard to justify bypassing the +3
bonus for spending a single rank on this.

Stealth* (Dex): Most animal companions won't
be sneaky, but this is great for ambush predators like snakes.

Survival (Wis): If your animal companion has
scent, and many do, they get a bonus to track by scent. This can allow your
animal companion to be a tracker for the party. This can also allow for
amusing things like sending your horse to track your enemies.

Swim* (Str): Situational.

Animal Companion Feats

Your companion gets several feats as you progress in level. Like skills,
your selection of feats depends heavily on your companions role. because it
is an animal, it has a limited selection of available feats until it reaches
3 intelligence.

Acrobatic: Inless you companion spends a ton of time tumbling, not worth a feat.

Agile Maneuvers: If you companion has high dexterity and Grab or Trip, this is a must.

Armor Proficiency (light): One of your companion's biggest problems will be its AC, and light armor won't slow it down.

Armor Proficiency (medium): If your companion isn't a mount and it doesn't need a lot of speed, medium armor is a good choice.

Armor Proficiency (heavy): If your companion is a dedicated defender, heavy armor can be a good option, but can be expensive.

Athletic: Bonuses to two very situational skills.

Blind-Fight: Because many animal companions have scent, they are excellent at locating invisible enemies. This helps them to then kill or grapple those enemies.

Combat Reflexes: If your animal companion is a dedicated defended, this can be a good option. Keep in mind that many animal companions who work well as defenders won't have enough dexterity to make use of Combat Reflexes.

Diehard: This can keep your animal companion in a fight, but personally I would rather see my animal companion take a nap until it gets healed.

Dodge: Additional AC is crucial for your animal companion.

Endurance: Highly situational.

Great Fortitude: Animals already have good fortitude saves, and many have good constitution scores.

Improved Bull Rush: If you companion is large and has sufficient strength, this can be a good option.

Improved Initiative: Animal companions act on your initiative, so this has no effect.

Improved Natural Armor: A good option for a defender, but not as good as dodge or armor proficiency.

Improved Natural Attack: The damage payoff on this feat is rarely worthwhile, so don't rush to get this.

Improved Overrun: If your animal companion is being used as a mount, this is a good option. Overrun allows you to move over and past unimportant targets to reach high priority targets the rear. Overrun also allows you to potentially damage some targets and knock them prone.

Intimidating Prowess: Intimidate is available to animals, though it isn't a class kill. With this, a decent strength, and a large animal companion you could have a pretty good intimidate check.

Iron Will: Your animal companion won't draw as much attention as actual party members, but Will is your companion's worst save.

Mobility: Mobility is great for pushing past front-line targets to reach more important targets at the rear, or for escaping.

Power Attack: Power Attack is an excellent source of damage, but keep in mind that your companion gets Druid BAB, and doesn't progress in hit dice as quickly as you. Power Attack may give up too much of your companion's attack bonus, and won't scale very quickly.

Run: Very situational.

Skill Focus: Very situational.

Spring Attack: Very situational, but it can be a lot of fun to use.

Stealthy: Very situational.

Toughness: Additional hit points will keep your companion alive, but remember that they don't progress in hit dice at the same rate that you do, so they won't get an extra hit points every time you gain a level.

Weapon Finesse: Animals with Dexterity higher than their
Strength get Weapon Finesee for free as a bonus feat.

Weapon Focus: For striker companions, Weapon Focus can help to add much-needed attack bonus. Because they get druid BAB and don't get a hit die every time you gain a level, companions may have trouble keeping their attacks accurate as you level.

Character Feats

In addition to the feats taken by your Animal Companion, you can take feats which
will enhance your Animal Companion.

Animal Soul: There are very few spells which only
affect animal companions.

Evolved Companion: Many 1-point evolutions are
fantastic, and you can take this feat multiple times. Get Reach for Defender
companions or Pounce for striker companions that don't already have it. There
are lots of fantastic options.

Improved Spell Sharing (Teamwork): This is good
for defensive buffs that you and your animal companion don't need, like Resist
Energy.

Pack Flanking: You don't need flanking as much
as someone with Sneak Attack, but the +2 to hit is nice.

Share Healing: Situational.

Spirit's Gift: Many of the Spirit Animal buffs are
very good for an Animal Companion. Bones grants constant concealment, Fire grants
immunity to fire damage, Heavens grants very limited flight, Life grants fast
healing, and Stone grants DR 5/adamantine. Unfortunately it only works for a few
minutes per day.

Can I ride my companion?

To the best of my knowledge, there isn't a hard rule on this. Obvious
choices like Horses, Ponies, Camels, and Riding Dogs are clearly meant to
serve as mounts, so we can try to draw some parallels to make good rulings
on what might be allowed to be ridden. A mount should meet the following
criteria:

At least one size larger than the rider

Capable of carrying the rider's weight (Enough Strength to lift the rider)

Horizontal riding surface of some kind on which to seat the rider

Rigid body (so no oozes)

These are not solid rules, obviously, but they are good guidelines. An
ostrich, for example, could make a reasonable mount. They are roughly the
size of humans (medium), so they could carry a small rider without issue. An
ape, even if it were large, would make a poor mount because it does not have
a horizontal riding surface to saddle, and the way they move is not conducive
to riding. As always, check with your DM and come to a reasonable solution.

The closest that I have found to an official list of rideable animals is the
Beast
Rider Cavalier's list of mount choices. If you are uncertain, use the animals
on that list as examples.

Does my Animal Companion gain Reach when it becomes Large?

Unfortunately, that's specific to each creature, and Paizo has not provided
any official guidance on reach for animal companions. Michael Brock, the global
organized play coordination over at Paizo, responded in
this
forum thread simply to say that the Large Ape animal companion has 10 foot
reach, but provided no other insight regarding reach for animal companions.

Based on the other suggestions in the same forum thread which Mr. Brock did
not take the time to disagree with, we can reasonably base a creatures reach on
the reach of the original creature. If an Animal Companion's base creature was
Large and had reach, it can be assumed that the Large Animal Companion would
therefore have reach.

Ruling on Animal Companions whose base creature was bigger than Large is
somewhat more difficult. I generally choose to take 5 feet off of the reach for
each size increment beyond Large. Therefore, a Huge creature with 15 foot reach
would reasonably have 10 foot reach at large size. Similarly, a Gargantuan
creature with 20 foot reach would have 10 foot reach at large size. There are
some notable cases where creatures have considerably more reach than their
size would typically indicate, such as the Diplodocus, which gets a stunning
60 foot reach in its typical Colossal form (30 foot square). Your GM may see the
hazard in offering 20 foot reach to large creature, but even 15 foot reach is
quite generous.

As always, check with your GM and come to a reasonable conclusion before
making any rules assumptions or character choices.

Selecting Your Animal Companion

When selecting your animal companion, keep in mind what role you want them
to fill. If your party is light on armor, you may need a defender. If your party
has problems with damage output, you might need a striker. If your build requires
mobility, you might want a mount. Some choices have interesting combat options
like Grab and Trip which can provide additional utility in battle.

Also note that most animals have low-light vision and scent, so we can
consider those two senses a base line for animal companions. Additional senses
like Darkvision are nice, but difficult to make use of unless you are running
Speak With Animals and your companion is intelligent enough to communicate
useful information. Additional movement modes are also nice, especially if your
companion is large enough to carry you.

Allosaurus

A passable striker right out the gate, the Allosaurus gets three attacks
(though the claw attacks are secondary), and has an AC of 17. With 40 speed
it can get around the field easily to reach key targets.

At level 7 the Allosaurus gets becomes large and gets a all of the usual
size adjustments to abilities, adds Grab and Pounce, and probably adds 10
foot Reach. Pouncing with 22 strength (actually 24 due to the animal companion
bonus to strength/dexterity) and 3 attacks is going to do a whole lot of damage.

Ankylosaurus

With a starting natural armor bonus of +9, the Ankylosaurus starts off at
21 AC, and can make a fine defender if you're careful about its hit points.
The 9 constitution is a bit of problem unless you improve it, but with some
armor and Toughness, the Ankylosaurus can stand alongside your fighter and
potentially have a higher AC with little cash investment.

The addition of large size and the usual size adjustments, reach, and
Stun at level 7 makes the Ankylosaurus a great area
control defender, and the bonus to strength/dexterity from the animal companion
table makes Combat Reflexes very viable. The ankylosaurus has 2 intelligence,
which makes it easy to make it intelligent, but be sure to invest in its
low constitution, and boost it strength to raise the DC on Stun. Avoid the
Stand Still feat because it is considerably less effective than Stun. At
this size, you might be able to use the Ankylosaurus as a mount. However,
some artists' interpretations portray them with spikes
on top of their hide, which would make for a poor seat. Consult your DM.

Ant, Giant

The giant ant brings a climb speed to the table, which can make it a good
choice for a mount for small creatures at level 4 when it becomes medium. It
has decent constitution, but its natural armor is low and its strength and
dexterity will make it unlikely to hit. It has Grab, which would be great if
it wasn't small with 10 strength.

Level 4 makes the giant ant somewhat more useful, but doesn't fix its low
natural armor, and only slightly improves its strength. It will still have
trouble hitting, and at medium with 14 strength Grab won't get it very far.
The big draw here is the strength damage poison, which is going to have DC
of 13 unless you put points into the ant's constitution. The strength damage
is fairly small, but there doesn't appear to be a limit on how often it can
be used, and you can always harvest poison from it to give to your rogue.

Antelope

Too small to be a mount, too little damage to a striker, not enough stealth
to be a scout. This thing is a fast-moving bullseye.

Ape

Apes have a climb speed and become large, but I don't think I would try to
use one as a mount. They get three attacks, but fairly low natural armor and
not much constitution. They have 2 intelligence, which means they can easily
be made intelligent, and have three attacks. They make a decent striker, but
won't do much damage until level 4 and they need help with their defenses.

Level 4 brings large size, reach, and switches their strength and dexterity.
At 21 strength, thos natural attacks start to look pretty scary, and the extra
constitution goes a long way to improve the ape's defenses. Even with these
improvements, be sure to invest in armor and other defenses to keep you ape
alive. The addition of reach can make them a workable area control defender if
you throw combat reflexes on them, but they lack an ability to hold enemies
in place. Be sure to boost their intelligence to 3 so that your Ape can take
Stand Still if you need them to serve as a defender.

Archelon

An Archelon is a pre-historic turtle. Look them up, they're super cool.
An Archelon starts at medium size, which should hint at the fact they were
enormous, and therefore cool. Despite their slow land speed, these guys can
really get around in water, and have a phenomenal +10 natural armor. Sadly,
that's really all that they bring to the table. Their strength and dexterity
are awful, and their constitution isn't good enough to make them a tank.

Level 7 brings only modest improvements. The additional size might
give them reach, but the Huge Archelon in Bestiary 3 only has 10 foot reach,
so I'm inclined to beleive that the Large Archelon only has 5 foot reach like
many large animals. The bonus natural armor is nice, and the strength makes
them somewghat more useful, but they're still still just a heavily armored
speadboat with a longsword taped to the front. Ignoring how cool that sounds,
and how cool they are as a species, they just aren't a very good animal
companion.

Arsinoitherium

This is a prehistoric relative of the elephant and the rhinoceros, and its
stats show it. It has respectable natural armor, strength, and decent constitution
to back it up. I would also consider this a viable mount.

Level 7 brings powerful charge and trample, which really make this a good
mount option for mounted charge characters. Trample adds a free attack to overrun,
and the damage from powerful charge is added to the normal damage for a charge
attack. Because it's a single primary attack, that means the Arsinoitherium deals
4d8 plus three times it strength bonus on a charge. With a minimum of 22 strength,
that's 4d8+18 damage on a charge. Even if you can't use it as a mount, that is a
very impressive striker.

Aurochs

Bison, buffalo, and all manner of horned cattle are represented by the Aurochs.
Their speed is respectable and their ability scores are acceptable, but their
natural armor is weak, and they damage is poor.

Level 7 doesn't improve the Aurochs much. The boost to strength is great, but
with a single lackluster gore attack, it's not going to get you much. Trample is
also nice, but it's still not enough to make this a good option. Stampede will
likely never come up unless you find a way to draw your enemies into herds of
cattle, at which point you probably don't need your animal companion.

Axe Beak

A fictional flightless bird with a huge, axe-shaped beak. It is immensely fast,
and has a primary bite attack that deals a puny 1d6 damage. With its starting
strength, that is all it gets. It doesn't even get a natural armor bonus.

4th level brings is a splash of natural armor, and finally a decent strength
score in addition to large size. Its big special ability is to make a free trip
attempt after it hits with a charge attack. I have seen people ride ostrich,
and those are only medium, so it stands to reason that a large Axe Beak might
make for a passable mount. The added benefit of tripping on a charge might even
be enough to draw a mounted charge character.

Baboon

Small, no natural armor, no special move type, mediocre stats, only one attack
with poor damage, and its 4th level advancement doesn't meaningfully improve it.

Badger

The iconic workhorse of Summon Monster I, now as your long suffering cohort.
Badgers bring a climb speed and a very rare burrow speed to the table. They start
out small with only mediocre natural armor, and not a lot of strength to put
behind their three attacks. They get to rage for 6 rounds a day, but they're only
enough to get you through one or two very short fights.

Level 4 brings medium size, and increase strength and damage. Their natural
armor doesn't improve, and the combined size increase and loss of dexterity
means that they lose two points of AC. The added damage is nice, but they still
only get 6 rounds of rage in a day, and that's not enough to make this animal
companion helpful. Unless you particularly need a burrow speed, look elsewhere.

Baluchitherium

Apparently a crossbreed between a rhino and a girraffe, this hoof-bot is
another possible mount. It has good natural armor, and decent stats. Its hoof
attacks are somewhat lacklustre, but it has 40 foot speed.

Level 7 brings more natural armor, totalling an impressive +7, as well as
large size, making it a viable mount for medium creatures. The improved strength
is great, and Trample makes Overrun a better option. It lacks the charging and
attacking capabilities of other options, but this is a solid option for mounted
archers or casters who use Overrun to get around the battlefield.

Basilosaurus

A big, scary, prehistoric predatory whale. Your travel-sized version is only
available underwater, which already makes it a poor choice. Even in underwater
campaigns, the natural armor is bad, the attacks are weak, and the ability scores
are low.

Level 7 improves the natural armor just enough to offset the AC lost from the
size increase and dexterity loss, but the improved strength brings some much-needed
damage. The biggest draw here is the 60 foot blindsense. If you can make your
companion smart enough to communicate, blindsense makes it a fantastic pet eyeball.

Bat, Dire

A 40 foot fly speed with good maneuverability is pretty great. At medium size,
it might even be a viable mount for a small character. The attack is weak, especially
with only 9 strength, but with 9 constitution and no natural armor, this thing needs
to stay out of combat. It can serve as a scout or a mount, but damage is not in the
dire bat's wheelhouse. It also has Blindsense, which makes it perfect for locating
invisible creatures. If you can make it smart enough to communicate, this can make
it a good spotter for spellcasters or archers who like to fight from the air.

Level 7 brings some much-needed natural armor, some strength which you won't
ever use, some extra consitution, and of course large size. Large size makes it
a potentially viable mount for medium creatures.

Bear

Despite small size, the bear has impressive speed, a little bit of natural
armor, three attacks, and respectable ability scores. With some armor, it could
make a passable defender or striker. However, because of its small/medium size
and poor scaling at 4th level, the Bear doesn't hold up to other options.

4th level brings medium size and minor improvements on what the bear is already
doing fairly well. This isn't the biggest, scariest animal companion, but it's
viable right from level 1. At medium size a bear be a mount for a small character,
but keep in mind that bears tend to stand up when they get into fights.

Beetle, Giant

No low-light vision or scent, but you get darkvision. The Giant Beatle is
slow, and has a slow fly speed with poor maneuverability, but it has a solid
+6 natural armor. The bite damage isn't going to get very far with such poor
stats, so this thing is an annoying ball of natural armor that sometimes flies
into your windows repeatedly for hours on end. Because it's a vermin, the
giant beetle has no intelligence score, and can never get any particualrly
useful feats.

Level 4 brings medium size, slightly improved stats, and a really lousy
trample attack. Keep in mind that trample only works on small creatures, so
your beatle is only going to be trampling halflings.

Bird

The very specifically named "Bird" is a catch-all for birds of prey (I think).
They get an impressive 80 foot fly speed, and three attacks with fairly poor
damage. With no Scent, these are mostly only useful as flying eyes. You
can use them to fly in and flank with you, but with only 12 con and negligible
natural armor, your Bird is going to get eaten by something bigger and scarier.
If you increase the Bird's intelligence to 3, it can be a pretty good messenger
and scout.

Boar

Real boar are only small size, and if you see one in the wild you very quickly
run in the other direction and hope it isn't following. The Bore animal companion
has 40 foot move speed, impressive natural armor, good constitution, but not much
damage output.

Level 4 brings a tiny bit more damage, medium size, and Ferocity. Ferocity is
basically Direhard for animals, which means your boar will continue doing its best
to get killed after someone has put it in negative hitpoints. Oh, and you could
probably ride it now if you're small.

Brachiosaurus

Medium size out the gate, and a possible mount option for small characters.
30 foot speed isn't awful, and the Brachiosaurus gets decent natural armor,
and a respectable tail attack.

7th level makes the Brachiosaurus large, and a possible mount for medium
characters. The added natural armor offsets the size increase, and additional
strength makes that tail attack more viable. Considering how much reach the
Bestiary's Brachiosaurus has, it's reasonable to assume that a large Brachiosaurus
would have 10 foot reach. However, with its weak defensive stats it doesn't
make for a great area control defender. Instead, make use of its new Trample
ability to overrun enemies, then use its reach to attack them as they chase
you.

Camel

A horse designed by committee. It has less natural armor than a horse, but
it has better ability scores. It also has less attacks than a horse, but it
gets a spit attack which you might find helpful. Sickened is almost as good
as Shaken, and the reduced saving throws can be very helpful for a clever
spellcaster. Spit is a ranged touch attack with no saving throw on the sickened
effect, so be sure to make use of it at every opportunity.

Level 4 brings some tiny ability score improvements. Keep spitting.

Cat, Big

Lions, tigers, panthers, etc. The Big Cat is a striker. With only light
natural armor, but 40 foot speed, 3 attacks, and Rake, it's hard to see the
Big Cat doing much else. At medium size they might make be a mount for small
riders.

Level 7 brings large size, and even more striking capabilities. Additional
strength, Grab, and Pounce to throw it all behind. Large might also make it
a potential mount for medium creatures, but cats don't seem like they would
make for a pleasant ride. Still, combining their pounce ability with a mounted
charge character would make for a truly fearsome pair.

Cat, Small

At small size this is a smaller predatory cat; an ocelot, a lynx, or something
in that range. The small cat trades the Big Cat's size and damage for Trip,
greatly improved dexterity, and increased speed. This is still a striker, but
less of a scary damage striker, and more of a support striker.

Level 4 brings medium size, a tiny bit more damage, and Sprint. Sprint is
great on a trip striker, as it allows them to run a huge distance and tackle
your escaping foes while the rest of your party rushes to catch up.

Centipede, Giant

Giant Centipedes are slow, but have a climb speed. Their natural armor is
light, and they don't have great constitution, so they can't really take a hit.
The cetipede's big draw is its poison. The DC is con-based, so at small size
the DC is only 10, and the dexterity damage from the poison is pretty small.
As a vermin, it gets Darkvision instead of Low-light vision and Scent, and
it has no intelligence score.

Level 4 brings medium size and some small improvements to ability scores.

Chameleon, Giant

The chameleon has average speed and a matching climb speed. It has no natural
armor, and not much in the way of combat stats. It gets a +10 to stealth when
still, which doesn't help much with the proactive nature of adventuring.

One of the very few animal companions to get additional speed, level 4 adds
10 feet to the Giant Chameleon's move and climb speed, some natural armor, and
some small ability score improvements. The chameleon also gains Tongue, which
allows it to Grab a target and pull them toward it. This is a nice ambush
mechanic for medium or smaller creatures, but with the chameleon's low strength
and poor bite damage, it's not going to do much on its own.

Crab, Giant

The Giant Crab has average speed and a slightly slower swim speed. It gets
two claw attacks with very little damage, but it also gets Grab and Constrict.
At small size it can't really hurt much. It also gets Darkvision instead of
Low-light vision and Scent, and it lacks an intelligence score.

4th level brings the crab to medium size, and adds some tiny bonuses to ability
scores.

Crocodile

Even at small size the crocodile is a respectable defender and striker. It
gets decent natural armor, and has very good ability scores, plus a bite attack
with Grab. However, it has a slow move speed and doesn't get scent. With some
armor, the crocodile can lock down single targets very well. However, it only
has 1 base intelligence, which makes it hard to make it intelligent.

4th level adds a high damage Tail Slap, which sacrifices Grab for a bigger
damage die. The added ability scores and medium size help with Grab, but the
real winner here is Death Roll, which makes it a much scarier grappler. The
crocodile also gets Sprint, which helps make up for its slow speed when you
need it to charge.

Deinonychus

Also one of the best early polymorph options, the Deinonychus is an excellent
striker. It has a stunning 60 foot speed, but very little natural armor, and not
much strength at small size. Still, it has a wopping 18 constitution and respectable
dexterity, so at the very least it will survive to see 7th level.

7th level is very good for the Deinonychus. It grows to medium size, gets
a bit of extra ability scores, and adds two talon attacks to its existing 3
natural attacks. On top of its now 5 attacks, it also gets pounce. With a bit
of focus on its strength, this can lead to a very impressive amount of damage.

Dimetrodon

Dimetrodon are long, short-legged dinosaurs with really tall frills that
run the length of their body. The Dimetrodon gets a small amount of natural
armor and decent ability scores. Its gimick is that its bite attack has a
19-20 critical threat range. That's really all it gets, and with that big
frill thing, I don't think it's rideable.

7th level brings large size, and not enough natural armor to offset the
size change. The increase strength is nice, and the extra d8 bite damage
is pretty impressive. Still, the Dimetrodon lacks any real interesting abilities,
and doesn't do enough damage to make it a good choice.

Dimorphodon

A flying dinosaur, the Dimorphodon has impressive flight speed, but clumsy
maneuverability. Compared to the Bird, it gets slightly more natural armor
and scent, but less strength and far worse maneuverability.

At level 4, the Dimorphodon gets slightly better ability scores, and
poison. The poison deals strength damage and has a con-based DC which starts
at 12 and deals strength damage. Even so, this thing doesn't have the stats
to be in melee poisoning people.

Diplodocus

Another quadrupedal, long-necked, herbivorous dinosaur. Based on its stats,
we can compare it to the Ankylosaurus. The Ankylosaurus has worse constitution
and slightly less tail slap damage, but considerably better natural armor.
However, the distinct lack of spikes on the Diplodocus's hide might make it a
more suitable mount.

Level 7 brings large size, more natural armor (though not enough to catch
up to the Ankylosaurus), considerably more tail attack damage, and better
ability scores. Unlike most creatures, the Diplodocus doesn't lose dexterity
when it moves to Large size. The Tail Lash ability also allows the Diplodocus
to make two attacks with its already impressive tail. Based on the Bestiary 5
Diplodocus entry, a large Diplodocus might have 10 or even 15 foot reach, which
would make it a viable area control defender even without the Ankylosaurus's
Stun ability. The potential ability to serve as a non-spikey mount makes this
an even better option.

Dog

Smaller, weaker, and slower than the Wolf, and it doesn't get Trip. If you
really need your canine to get through civilized areas without suspicion, bluff
people and tell them that your dog is a wolf-hound, and hope they don't have
Knowledge (Nature).

Dolphin

Very fast in the water, dolphins aren't very impressive in combat. Their
big appeal is blindsight 120 feet once they hit 4th level, which turns them
into very vast, very powerful underwater scouts.

Eel, Electric

The only appeal of the Electric Eel is the additional electricity damage
which it deals when when it advances at 4th level. Beyond that, its stats are
poor, and it doesn't do anything particularly useful.

Elasmosaurus

A bite attack with move speed and a swim speed. The best case you can make
for the Elasmosaurus is that it might get reach when it advances because of
its exceptionally long neck. Even with its 2d6 bite damage after advancing,
the Elasmosaurus's damage still isn't very impressive.

Elephant

While not listed as a mount, Elephants are used as mounts throughout Southern
Asia, and have been used as war mounts for thousands of years. With 40 speed,
decent natural armor, and respectable stats, Elephants are decent right from
the start.

7th level brings the Elephant to large size, improves the gore damage to an
impressive 2d6, and adds 8 more to its already respectable strength. Combined
with its new Trample ability, the Elephant is an excellent overrun mount, and
it van get by on its good natural armor and constitution to serve as a defender
or even a striker. With this much versatility, and viability from level 1, the
Elephant is an excellent choice for nearly any character and nearly any situation.

Elk

Elk get the same speed as a horse, and seem like a possible mount option. Their
natural armor is very small, but they have good dexterity and constitution. Their
attacks are fairly weak, and they have to choose between their gore or their hoof
attacks. They also don't get scent for some reason.

Level 7 brings large size and some numerical improvements, but doesn't actually
make the elk any more interesting. The attacks do a bit more damage, but the Elk
still lacks any interesting abilities like Trample which other similar options get.

Frog, Giant

The Giant Frog has average speed and a matching swim speed. Its natural armor
is very weak, but it has good ability scores to start with. It also starts with
Tongue and Pull, which allow it to grab targets 15 feet away and pull them into
a grapple.

Level 4 provides very little in the way of improvement. Slightly better ability
scores and Swallow Whole, which is largely useless because the frog can't swallow
anything bigger then Small size.

Gar

At medium size, this is an impressively large fish. It has paper thin natural
armor, but it has good ability scores and a bite with grab. It lacks a land speed,
but in the water it's fast and can be a passable grappling striker.

Gecko, Giant

I'm confused why the Giant Gecko doesn't just have a climb speed. Expert
Climber allows it to climb (at half its land speed) on any vertical surface,
which is effectively a slow climb speed. On top of that, it lacks scent, has
poor ability scores, and no other interesting abilities. 4th level brings
more speed and medium size, but meaningful improvement.

Giraffe

A new-born giraffe is roughly 6 feet tall, making it medium size. This
means that either you found an orphaned giraffe or walked right up to its
mother and were like "yo, I'm taking this". The giraffe has speed equal to
a horse, two respectable hoof attacks, and impressive strength even at
medium size. It has a little of natural armor and great dexterity, but it
doesn't have a lot of constitution to back up its low AC.

Level 7 brings an additional slam attack (Giraffes hit things with their
long necks. Look it up.), large size, and some improvements to ability scores.
The Giraffe's strength doesn't improve as much as most creatures moving to
large size, but a total strength of 20 is still pretty good. Because of its
clearly horse-like shape, you might consider using a giraffe as a hilariously
long-necked mount, but I would advise against this as giraffes are somewhat
spindly and they are clearly not build to carry weight on their backs.

Goblin Dog

The Goblin Dog has excellent speed, but fairly terrible stats. It gets
the iconic Allergic Reaction, but even that only applies a very minor ability
penalty. 4th level brings medium size, and a net loss to AC. The ability score
improvements are nice, but still not enough to make this a orange choice.

Glyptodon

Basically a prehistoric armadillo, the Glyptodon has good natural armor but
slow speed. It gets two claw attacks with respectable damage, but its ability
scores are fairly bad. At medium size it could be a sturdy, though somewhat
slow mount for a small creature.

Level 7 brings large size and all of the typical associated benefits. The
increase strength makes the Glyptodon considerably more dangerous, but its
natural armor only increases enough to offset the size change. The glyptodon
can now serve as a very slow mount for a medium creature, or a somewhat mediocre
defender.

Hippopotamus

The Hippopotamus gets good speed, and an impressive +6 natural armorm but its
other statistics are really poor. Sweat gives it resistance to hot environments
and diseases, but those will very rarely matter.

7th level brings the hippo to large size, doubles its bit damage to an impressive
2d8, adds all of the ability score improvements that come with large size, and
adds Trample. The addition of Trample makes the hippo a rather amusing potential
mount. Combined with the hippo's respectable strength and impressive bite damage,
it could make a passable overrun mount. Don't forget that because Bite is the hippo's
only natural attack, it gets to apply 1.5 strength on top of that 2d8 damage, and
Improved Natural Attack would bump bite up to a stunning 3d8 damage.

Horse

The Horse is one of very few animal companions which starts at Large size and
is immediately ridable by medium creatures. It has excellent speed, and impressive
+4 natural armor, and good ability scores off the bat. 4th level brings some small
ability score improvements and Combat Trained, which makes the horse an excellent
combat mount. The Horse doesn't get Trample, which is disappointing, but with
Combat Trained it can still be an excellent mount choice for any character that
needs one.

Hyena

A smaller, more dextrous version of the wolf. The Hyena's big gimmick is Trip,
which can be done faster by a Small Cat, and more effectively by a Wolf. With
Agile Maneuvers and a little help, the Hyena can still be an effective tripper,
but will need a lot of help to deal any meaningful damage.

Iguanodon

Iguanadons start at medium size, and would make for a fine mount for a small
creature despite only having average speed. Their ability scores are very
impressive with a starting strength of 17. The Iguanodon only gets on claw
attack, which is dissappointing, but it gets to put 1.5 strength behind it.
It also gets a little bit of natural armor, and has enough constitution to
keep it standing.

Level 7 brings large size, all of the normal size changes to ability scores,
and Thumb Spikes, which makes the Iguanadon's claw equivalent to two-handing a
battleaxe. At a very impressive 25 strength (not counting the animal companion
bonuses), that claw deals 1d8+10 damage, which is very respectable. Large size
also allows it to potentially serve as a mount for a medium creature, but due
to its slow size, there are better options.

Kangaroo

The Kangaroo has good move speed, but otherwise poor stats. Its only natural
attack does very little damage, especially with so little strength. 4th level
brings medium size, slightly better stats, a tiny bit of natural armor, and 10
more feet of move speed. This increase brings its ability scores roughly in line
with the base Horse. With no special abilities and no chance of being a viable
mount, the Kangaroo really has nothing to offer.

Leech, Giant

With 5 foot move speed, no natural armor, and poor stats, the Giant Leech
is a very squishy bag of hit points. Blindsense is fanatastic, but because the
leach is a vermin it lacks the capacity to communicate. Level 7 adds a rather
horrifying Blood Dragin special attack, and improves Blindsense to Blindsight,
but with so little move speed the leech will have trouble catching aything to
latch onto.

Manta Ray

Even underwater, this is strictly worse than the Dolphin. The only advantage
to the Manta Ray is that they reach Large size and might serve as a mount.

Mantis, Giant

With average move speed, a climb speed, and a fly speed, the Giant Mantis
has a lot of good ways to get around. Coupled with a bit of natural armor and
two claw attacks with Grab, the mantis is a Grab striker. As a vermin, it lacks
and intelligence score and trades Low-light Vision and Scent for Darkvision.

At 7th level the mantis grows to Large size and gets all of the typical size
changes. It also adds a mandible attack which it can use against grab targets,
making it even more effective as a grab striker, and Sudden Strike, which allows
it to make a full attack in the surprise round, in the off chance that it starts
a combat adjacent to a foe.

Megalania

Something like a pre-historic crocodile, the Megalania has average move speed
and paper thin natural armor. Its dexterity is good, but that's its only really
great ability score. Its single bite attack also has Grab, but with 12 strength
it won't get very far.

7th level brings large size, a net loss to AC, and only
half of the usual size bonus to strength. It also gains a poison for which no
stats are provided. If it keeps in line with other animal companions with poison,
it should deal 1 dexterity damage per round for 6 rounds, with 1 save to cure,
and a con-based DC equal to 10 plus the Megalania's constitution modifier.

Megaloceros

This might as well be called Dire Elk. It has 50 foot move speed, decent
natural armor, and decent ability scores, but only a single gore attack. Compared
to the standard elk, its gore attack does more damage, but it gives up the
two hoof attacks. The Megaloceros also has two more points of natural armor.

7th level brings large size, bringing the Gore attack to 2d6 damage, and
adds two secondary hoof attacks, far outclassing the Elk's need to choose
between its gore attack or its hoof attacks. Assuming that it can
be used as a mount, this makes the Megaloceros roughly equivalent to a Horse
with slightly adjusted ability scores.

Megatherium

A giant, pre-historic sloth, the Megatherium has good move speed (especially
for a sloth), and a very slow climb speed. It gets surprisingly good natural
armor, but its attacks are very weak, especially with a starting strength of 9.

7th level brings Large size and all of the normal ability adjustments, but
also adds Rend. If the Megatherium's ability scores weren't so poor, it might
make a decent striker.

Monitor Lizard

Small and Grab are not a good combination. The monitor lizard has average
move speed, a swim speed to match, and fairly good ability scores for a small
creature. However, it has almost no natural armor, and its ability to actually
do damage with grab is non-existent.

7th level brings medium size, slightly better abilities, and a poison on
top of Grab. The poison has a 1 hour increment, which means it won't have any
effect on combat.

Moray Eel, Giant

Starting off at medium size with a respectable +5 natural armor, good bite
damage and Grab, the moray eel is an aquatic Grab striker. Even at medium size
it has great physical stats.

7th level brings large size, more natural armor, 2d6 bite damage, and all
of the size bonuses to ability scores, bringing the eel to an impressive 24
strength. Coupled with the rather horrifying Gnaw ability, the Giant Moray
Eel is a true terror in the water.

Octopus

Even in the water, the octopus isn't great. It has average swim speed,
and an impressive Jet speed, but its damage is pathetic, and its tentacles
give it grab so that it can wave its dismal strength score around. 4th level
adds poison to the bite attack, but even this doesn't really make the octopus
useful.

Orca

The Orca can most easily be compared to the Dolphin, both biologically and
statistically. Surprisingly, the Orca is more dexterous than the Dolphin at
start, and has slightly less strength and constitution. Their natural armor is
equal (and bad), and the Orca's bite is slightly more damaging than the Dolphin's
slam.

7th level brings the Orca up to Large size, and dramatically increases its
strength and constitution. Continuing to compare to the dolphin, the Orca now
has the same AC, 5 more strength, 2 more dexterity, 1 less constitution, and
a much bigger natural attack. The Orca also picks up blindsight 120 feet at
this level, the same as a dolphin. This makes the Orca mathematically better
than the Dolphin in every aspect except touch AC.

Pachycephalosaurus

A bipedal dinosaur with a built-in football helmet, the Pachycephalosaurus
is a bull rush with legs. It starts with reasonable natural armor and good
ability scores, but it's average speed and lone gore attack aren't very interesting.

Level 7 brings large size, and all of the normal size benefits, including
10 foot reach. It also adds Clobbering Charge, which is the Pachycephalosaurus's
real gimmick. Clobbering Charge adds a free Bull Rush at the end of a successful
charge attack. Coupled with the Pachycephalosaurus's impressive 23 strength and
large size, it has a very high chance of success on this bull rush attempt. If
you want Bull Rush to be part of your overall combat strategy, this is a great
option.

Parasaurolophus

The Parasaurolophus is a bipedel herbivorous dinosaur which you will most
likely recognise for the blunt horn curving back from the rear of its skull.
The Parasaurolophus gets a bit of natural armor, average speed, and impressive
dextertiy, but its stats are otherwise poor.

7th level brings large size, probably 10 foot reach (the Huge Parasaurolophus
has 15 foot reach), and all of the normal size changes to ability scores. It
also adds Tample, making the Parasaurolophus look like a possible Overrun user.
Despite being bipedal, it also looks like it would make a solid mount. However,
it's fairly poor stats, average speed, and poor natural armor make this a fairly
poor choice for any purpose.

Pony

The small character's Horse equivalent. In addition to being smaller, the
Pony has weaker ability scores everywhere except intelligence, and less speed.
You think the smaller size might at least give it slightly better dexterity.
It even has two less points of natural armor! 4th level brings the same benefits
that the Horse gets, which means the pony remains statistically inferior. If
you need a mount for a small character, consider a Wolf, a Dog, or a Small Cat.

Pteranodon

Clumsy fly speed, no natural armor, and a whole mess of dexterity. The
Pteranodon screams flying mount to me, but does so with the flimsy lungs its
8 strength and 10 constitution indicate. Despite being slightly faster and
having a bigger damage die, the Pteranodon is strictly worse the the Dire Bat.
7th level brings Large size, but even this leaves it lagging behind the Dire
Bat's superior stats and blindsense.

Ram

The Ram is a bull rush with legs. It has 40 foot speed, almost no natural
armor, and at small siz with 10 strength won't be doing much of anything until
it advances at 4th level. 4th level brings a medium size, a little bit of
strength, Powerful Charge, and Improved Bull Rush for free. This still isn't
much, especially considering the existence of the Pachycephalosaurus.

Rat, Dire

Dire Rats get decent move speed, as well as climb and swim speeds. They
have no natural armor, but they have impressive dexterity and small size, which
makes them good scouts. If you increase their intelligence and can speak with
animals, their scouting ability becomes truly impressive.

4th level brings
some really pointless ability improvements, and adds Filth Fever to their bites,
which will likely never matter in a fight because diseases take days to do
anything.

Rhinoceros

The rhinoceros has a respectable +4 natural armor, and really good ability
scores at start. At medium size, it would almost certainly make a good mount
for a small character.

7th level brings Large size, which bumps the Rhino's gore attack up to 2d6
damage, adds all of the usual size bonuses to abilities, and an extra point of
natural armor on top of it. The rhino also gets powerful charge for an additional
2d8 damage (probably plus 1.5 strength), which makes its charges very impressive.
In addition to being a sturdy mount, it can make for a passable striker.

Roc

The description for this animal companion outright states that it works as a
mount at large size for medium characters. With +5 natural and 80 foot fly speed,
and decent dexterity, it has a great starting AC, but watch out for the 9
constitution. The animal companion entry also fails to list a maneuverability,
but it seems logical to assume Average maneuverability based on the Bestiary's
Roc entry. The roc also gets three primary natural atacks, but with so little
constitution and strength, it won't do much damage. Also keep in mind that the
Roc does not get Scent.

7th level brings large size, with all the normal size adjustments to ability
scores, plus an extra point of natural armor. This thing is a flying tank.

Scorpion, Giant

Finally a scary vermin companion, the Giant Scorphion has good speed at 40
feet, but paper thin natural armor, and fairly weak ability scores. Its appeal
comes from the two claws with grab and the string with a poison right from level
1. The poison has a constitution-based DC, and deals strength damage. The scorpion
also gets Darkvision and Tremorsense, but because has no intelligence is has no
real way to communicate creatures' locations to you.

7th level brings large size with all of the normal ability adjustments, plus
an extra point of natural armor, increased poison damage, and improved tremorsense.
With now 20 strength and large size, the grab on those claws is pretty impressive.
This makes the giant scorpion a powerful Grab Striker, and if your DM is a little
crazy it might even serve as a mount.

Seahorse

Yes, an actual seahorse, not a horse that lives in the sea. The Seahorse
has a respectable +4 natural armor, and good ability scores off the bat. It
improves at 4th level much the same way Horses and Ponies do, and adds the
Anchor ability. It is a logical, if somewhat dull, choice for an underwater
mount.

Shark

One of the few underwater choices to get scent, the shark also gets has a
swim speed of 60, +4 natural armor, and fairly good ability scores for a small
creature. With poor starting strength, its bite attack isn't very impressive.

4th level brings medium size with the normal ability score adjustments, and
adds 30 foot blindsense. Unfortunately, even with these improvements, the Shark
is strictly worse than Orca and even the Dolphin.

Slug, Giant

The Giant Slug is a very odd creature. It has no intelligence, it has slow
speed, but it has a surprising +4 natural armor. Its physical ability scores are
fairly poor, but it also gets blindsense 30 feet, and some DR. Its real draw is
its Spit Acid special attack. Despite being a ranged touch attack, which is the
easiest attack in the world to make, it will miss often due to its 8 dexterity.

7th level brings Large size, but very little in the way of ability improvements.
The Spit Acid damage increases to 1d8, but the loss of dexterity and increased size
makes it even less likely to hit. Its blindsense increases to blindsight, but with
no way to communicate the location of targets, this doesn't really help anyone.

Snake, Constrictor

When I think Grab Striker, I think Constrictor Snake. Its speed is only 20
feet, but it has matching climb and swim speeds. At medium size, and with good
ability scores, it can set Grab to good work right away. However, with only 1
intelligence, it's difficult to make it intelligent, which makes it much harder
to pick up feats to improve its grappling capabilities.

Level 4 brings Large size a bit earlier than usual, with all of the normal
ability adjustments, but 1 less point of natural armor than normal for a net
loss of AC. The snake also picks up constrict, which makes its Grab ability
that much more potent. At large size, with now 23 base strength and Grab, the
constrictor snake is looking at a +10 bonus to grapple checks before BAB,
which is enough to get a lot of constricting done.

Snake, Viper

The viper is a size smaller than the Constrictor Snake, but has the same
speed and bite damage. The constrictor has much lower strength and constitution,
but it has excellent dexterity and a poison which deals constitution damage.
Unfortunately, because the poison DC is constitution-based, it will be very
poor until the snake advances at 4th level.

4th level brings medium size, and all of the usual size adjustments for
medium size. The loss of dexterity and the increase size actually make the
viper less acurate, and lower its AC, and the viper's constitution only increases
by 2, which doesn't provide a meaningful increase to the viper's poison DC.
Despite all of the potential of a constitution damage poison, the viper
gets actively worse when it advances, making it a very poor choice.

Snapping Turtle

The Snapping Turtle brings an impressive +10 natural armor, but at medium
size has poor speed, dismal ability scores, and an insignificant bite attack.
7th level brings Large size with all of the usual ability score adjustments,
and adds grab to the turtle's bite. The addition of Grab makes the turtle
look like a Grab Striker, but with so little move speed and still very low
strength, the Turtle isn't going to be very successful.

Spider, Giant

The Giant Spider has average move speed and a matching climb speed. It has
no natural armor, dismal strength, and only 10 constitution. Its saving graces
are a high dexterity, darkvision, tremsorsense, and a strength damaging poison.
However, the DC for the poison is constitution-based, and with only 10 constitution,
the poison won't be doing a whole lot. In addition, because the giant spider is
a vermin, it has no intelligence score and can't be made intelligent.

By level 4 you have picked up Weapon Finesse so that the spider has a remote
chance of hitting something, so medium size actually makes it less effective.
Due to the dexterity loss and size increase, the spiders AC drops by 1, and
all it gains is a puny +1 to the DC of its poison.

Spinosaurus

The Spinosaurus is about as straightforward as Strikers get. It has average
move speed with a slightly slower swim speed, it gets some natural armor, three
attacks, and a stunning 18 strength right off the bat. Couple with its other
impressive ability scores, this thing is an impressive fighting machine.

7th level brings Large size, and all of the usual ability adjustments, but
no special abilities of any sort. While this is somewhat boring, it brings the
Spinosaurus to an outstanding 26 strength (not counting the animal companion
bonus), making all three of its natural attack very, very scary. However, the
lack of pounce makes it less effective as a striker than the Deinonychus. With
some armor, the Spinosaurus could easily serve as Defender, but using it as a
mount seems unlikely due to the spiny frills for which is is named.

Squid

At medium size this is a very large squid. It has a swim speed of 60 feet,
a jet speed of 240, and a couple of natural attacks. Its ability scores aren't
great, and the squid's big draw is the Ink Cloud ability. While this ability
is certainly amusing, it's not terribly helpful. 4th level brings some really
meaningless ability score increases.

Stag

An even worse version of the Elk. Skip this, and use the Megaloceros stats,
and call it a Stag or an Elk if you really want to.

Stegosaurus

The Stegosaurus has a respectable +6 natural armor bonus, and a big pile
of dexterity at medium size. It has average speed, but its constitution and
strength are lacking. Despite all this, its tail attack does an impressive
2d6 damage at this size.

7th level brings Large size with all of the usual ability adjustments,
and adds Trip to the already impressive Tail attack. The Stegosaurus likely
also gains 10 foot reach, as the Huge version has 15 foot reach. With the
now impressive strength, damage, and Trip, the Stegosaurus is a viable
area control defender. Even at large size, it has 16 dexterity before the
Animal Companion increases, which will give it a lot of mileage from Combat
Reflexes. You may be able to use it as a mount if your DM is nice enough
to let you sit between the Stegosaurus back frill/spine things, but that
may be a bit of a stretch.

Stingray

The Manta Rays smaller, scarier cousin, the Stingray is Small, and slower
than the manta Ray, but has a rather impressive poison which deals both
dexterity and constitution damage. However, the Stingray begins
with low ability scores, so the DC on the poison won't be spectacular,
and with only 1 intelligence it is difficult to bring the Stringray's intelligence
up to 3.

Level 4 brings medium size, Blindsense, and some modest size adjustments to
ability scores. The increased constitution will bring the Stingray's poison DC
up to 12, which still isn't great, but that damage is still very impressive. The
addition of Blindsense can also allow the Stingray to scout for invisible creatures.

Styracosaurus

The Styracosaurus has a respectable +6 natural armor, a decent Gore attack, and
average speed, but otherwise poor ability scores. 7th level brings large size, with
all of the usual size adjustments to ability scores. The Styracosaurus also adds
Ferocity so that it will die in combat more frequently, and Reflexive Strike which
allows it to make 3 additional attacks of opportunity. Because it now has only 11
dexterity (before the Animal Companion bonuses), Reflexive Strike is important for
the Styracosaurus to serve as an area control tank. However, its damage is still
poor compared to several other options, and its lack of reach and a crowd control
ability make it ineffective at its only interesting gimmick.

Thylacine

The Thylacine is a small, cat-like marsupial. It has startlingly good constitution
for such a small creatures, but is otherwise largely unremarkable. Its Powerful Jaws
ability improves the threat range of its bite attack, but with only 12 strength
behind a d4 bite, it's not really going to do any damage. The poor thing doesn't
even get Scent.

4th level brings the Thylacine to medium size, and adds some natural armor. Now
with 20 constitution, this thing is a tiny annoying bag of poorly armored hitpoints.
With no damage output, no AC, and no useful scouting abilities, this thing has no
discernable purpose.

Toad, Giant

The Giant Toad closely resembles the Giant Frog, but comes with a different, and
more useful set of special abilities. It has average speed and a matching swim speed,
and decent ability scores. Unfortunately, it has only one point of natural armor.

Level 4 brings some minor ability score improvements, Poison Skin, and Swallow Whole.
Poison Skin will help protect your Toad against monsters and people who enjoy licking
giant amphibians, but won't be useful offensively. Swallow Whole is a fantastic way
to outright murder something, but it only affects creature smaller than your Medium
sized Giant Toad. If you plan to murder a lot of small animals or halflings, the Giant
Toad can serve as a reasonable stiker.

Tortoise

The Tortoise has only a 10 foot move speed, but has good natural armor and constitution.
However, with its dismal dexterity its AC is still terrible. It has a bite attack with
fairly poor damage, but good luck finding anyone slow enough for it to matter.

7th level brings Large size, a pile of additional natural armor, and about half of
the usual ability score improvements for large size. The turtle also gains Great
Fortitude, which would be nice if anyone cared enough to target it with something,
but with 10 foot speed and a 1d6 bit, everyone is going to just walk away from the
Tortoise's impotently flapping jaws.

Triceratops

Iconic and spiky, the Triceratops seems like a fine mount choice, and makes an
obvious charge striker. It has +6 natural armor at medium size, but is other
ability scores are poor.

7th level brings large size, an extra point of natural armor, and Powerful
Charge. Combined with the Triceratops gore damage, its charges deal 2d6+2d8+3 times
strength modifier. Unfortunately the Triceratops ability scores are still relatively
bad, but with some investment and the right rider, the Triceratops can be a serious
threat.

Trumpeter Swan

Someone looked at the Bird option, and decided that they wanted something less
predatory and more artistic, but not with appreciably different stats. The Trumpeter
Swan is almost identical to the Bird in every way, but is slower and has very slightly
less Charisma. If you want a bird, get a Bird.

Tylosaurus

A big angry prehistoric fish, the Tylosaurus is one of few aquatic options with
both Scent and a land speed. At medium size it has a bit of natural armor and impressive
dexterity, but its Bite has essentially nothing behind it.

7th level brings Large size, and all of the usual ability score adjustments. The
Tylosaurus also picks up Grab, which turns it into a Grab striker. However, with such
poor ability scores it will have trouble competing with other Grab strikers like the
Cosntrictor Snake.

Tyrannosaurus

Iconic, big, and toothy, the Tyrannosaurus has average move speed, and decent
natural armor. At medium size it has decent strength and dexterity, but very little
constitution. Despite being known for having a particualrly puny brain, it also has
two intelligence.

7th level brings Large size with the usual ability score adjustments, an extra
point of natural armor, Grab, Powerful Bite, and probably reach. Powerful Bite
adds some extra power to the Tyrannosaurus's new 22 strength and 2d6 bite damage,
and Grab turns it into a big, scary Grab Striker.

The Tyrannosaurus can most easily be compared to the Allosaurus and the
Deinonychus. The Tyrannosaurus gets one big, scary attack with Grab. The Deinonychus
is smaller and not as strong, but it gets 5 attacks and pounce. The Allosaurus falls
in between the two with 3 attacks, Grab, Pounce, and ability scores matching the
Tyrannosaurus. All three are fantastic strikers, but display different focuses
and different ability sets. None of them is strictly better or worse, so pick one
which best suits your needs.

Velociraptor

STAT BLOCK MISSING FROM SRD.

Vulture, Giant

Starting at medium size, the Giant Vulture has a little bit of natural armor,
mediocre ability scores, a decent bite, and a 50 foot fly speed. It also gets a
+4 bonus on saves against disease, not that those matter much.

7th level brings large size, and all of the usual ability score adjustments.
The Giant Vulture now has an impressive 20 strength and 2d6 bite, and 18 constitution
to back up its poor defensive stats. It might make a decent flying striker, but
it won't win any long-term fights against tough opponents. You might even be
able to use it as a flying mount.

Wasp, Giant

The Giant Wasp has an impressive 60 foot fly speed with Good manoeuvrability,
and a little bit of natural armor. Offensively, its big option is its poison,
which does dexterity damage. As a vermin, it has no intelligence, and has Darkvision
instead of Low-light vision and Scent.

7th level brings Largse Size, which puts some much-needed damage behind the
Wasp's sting, and improves the poison DC by 2. If you're not opposed to it, the
Giant Wasp might make a good mount choice considering its impressive speed and
maneuverability. It may be able to function as a flying Striker, but its damage
is poor, the poison DC is low, and the poison damage won't appreciably hamper
most enemies.

Weasel, Giant

The giant weasel has average speed and a 10 foot climb speed. It gets a single
point of natural armor, and has a huge amount of dexterity, but otherwise unremarkable
ability scores. The Giant Weasel's big scary gimcik is Blood Drain. Even at only
1 point, the Giant Weasel is draining constitution damage, which piles up very
quickly over several rounds. Coupled with Grab, the Giant Weasel is a high risk
Grab Striker due to its Small size and poor strength.

4th level brings medium size, and a bit of much-needed strength. This helps
quite a bit with the weasel's CMB for Grab/Grapple, but it may still have trouble
staying attached to use Blood Drain. With some intelligence and the right feats,
the Giant Weasel can be used to weaken very scary foes with big pools of hit points.
The Giant Weasel stat entry also mentions that small creatures train them as
mounts, which seems like perfect evidence that they could do the same for you.

Wolf

The Ranger's most iconic choice, the Wolf is a solid option. It has good speed,
a bit of natural armor, good ability scores, and Trip right from level 1. It is
strictly superior to the Dog in every way except public relations.

Level 7 brings large size with all of the usual ability score improvements,
which helps to keep the Wolf a viable Trip monster. Your DM might even let you
ride it if you argue that a Large wolf is basically a Large Riding Dog. Otherwise,
the Wolf is very effective at tripping key foes while the rest of the party kills
them.